Great organizations are the result of great people. In turn, great people are the result of great leaders. Great leaders model the mission and values of the organization. They lead by example. Great leaders take responsibility for actions and outcomes. Before you have a great organization, you need to first have great leaders. Great leaders strive for excellence. They know that their success is dependent on continued development of skills and knowledge. One of the biggest challenges of leaders is retaining and developing great people.
The fourth principle of the Nine Principles for Organizational Excellence® is: Develop Leaders to Develop People. In other words, coach leaders to coach their teams. Coaching includes teaching, supporting, and facilitating teams to gain the skills they need to execute the strategic action to achieve results. Working with our partner districts, we call ourselves leader coaches. At Studer Education, coaching leaders to develop their people is our main priority. So our success truly depends on the leadership.
Who coaches whom in school systems? Superintendents coach their senior leaders. Senior leaders coach department leaders and principals. Department leaders coach managers. Principals coach teachers.
Here’s what’s so great: teachers coach students. Coaching directly flows down from the superintendent to each student in the classroom. An effort that starts at the top results in teachers coaching students to achieve their highest potential.
